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MO - Guardians charged with malnourishing and abusing girls

Jeffrey "Adam" Kraft, 34, and Michele L. Kraft, 28, each face a count of first-degree assault and first-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

During an interview at the Child Protection Center, the older girl told officials the Krafts had pushed her into things, hit her on the back of the head and spanked her. She ate in her locked room and could only ask for something to drink once she heard the Krafts in the kitchen. The 8-year-old told officials she had not been to school since kindergarten, but was told to read daily.

The 8-year-old weighed 42 pounds, was 47" tall and medical records showed she had lost 6 pounds since the age of 5, while in the Krafts' care. She had not seen a medical provider in four years.

Jackson County judge attributed a lack of evidence and unconvincing testimonies on Tuesday to prove the actions of Jeffrey A. Kraft and Michele L. Kraft were criminal in nature...
These people did the best they could on a food stamp budget. This was not a malnourished child, this was a skinny kid," said lawyer Cathy Noble, who represented Jeffrey Kraft...

With one battle behind them, the Krafts will now fight for custody of their own 3-year-old daughter taken by the state when charges surfaced.

Though the girl at the center of the case suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, Schieber said an expert witness could not say whether it was caused by the Krafts or from earlier moving “from household to household with a mother with mental health issues.”

The 8-year-old girl who allegedly was abused did not testify during the bench trial. Her younger sister did. Schieber said that sister’s testimony appeared to be “prompted, mechanical and robotic.” More credible, he said, was the younger sibling’s 2012 recorded interview with child protection authorities, in which she painted a more complete — and balanced — picture of the household.